Poverty and Social Justice

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POVERTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE A Primer 'For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.' (Isaiah 61:8)

Challenges with seeking a Biblical view of social justice
We

bring baggage to the question
What if there is no 'Biblical' view of social justice? – What is the Biblical view of cement cement? ? – What the Bible says is always TRUE, but not necessarily EXHAUSTIVE

Two general approaches
The

'progressives'

– Robin Hood economics – 'How did Jesus become propro-rich, propro-war and propro-American?'
The

'conservatives'

– Family values, law and order – 'Prosperous Christians in an age of guiltguiltmanipulators'
Where

should we sit?

Social Justice

What is social justice?
Social

righteousness

– Acting in love – Showing love at a societal level
Fair

treatment of those with no voice


Equal

legal standing regardless of gender, race, religion


Impartial


Not

administration of justice

equality

The essential principles:
Injustice

is always deplorable, but sadly inevitable – Ps 97:10; Isa 61:8; Gen 3,4; Rom 8:22


Those

who seek justice do so at their

peril – Amos 5:18
We

are to 'love justice'

– Ps 97:10

Some topical examples




Injustice against the unborn – Abortion

– Embryonic cloning/experimentation – Gay adoption


Injustice against the alien – Human trafficking – Treatment of refugees




Injustice against the poor – Excessive rent, unfair pay




Injustice against the victim – Lenient sentencing

What is the relationship between justice and poverty?
The

poor are particularly vulnerable to injustice (Exod 23:6, Luke 18:118:1-8)

What should our approach be?
Scripture

is clear in its condemnation of injustice, but less clear in how we should address it
Most people share similar goals, but have different strategies
JUSTICE (including economic justice) should be our goal – not equality – Lev 19:36, Pr 11:1, Mic 6:8

Poverty

Who are 'the poor'?
Materially

and spiritually impoverished – Widows, orphans, aliens (Ex 22:2122:21-22) – The lazy (Pr 6:106:10-11) – God's people (Isa 3:143:14-15; Lk 6:20) – Those to whom the gospel is preached (Lk 4:174:17-19)

The God of the poor
God

is their defender, saviour

– Ps 12:5; Ps 68:5
Poverty

is an elevated condition in God's sight – Jas 1:9


The

paradox of poverty

– Poverty is a blessing ... – ... but not a blessing we should wish on others

Poverty in Australia
Wild

overestimations

– ACOSS: two million Australians living in poverty (10%) – 'Deprivation' a more useful word (3%)
It's

often not related to income

– Substance abuse, gambling, stages of life
More

of a problem overseas

– 40% of world on less than $2 per day – 21% on less than $1 per day

Some guiding principles
Unlike

eastern faiths, Christianity believes the material world matters – Care for the poor is an important part of Christian ethics


But

the Church's goal is NOT the eradication of poverty, any more than it is the eradication of diabetes

Our duty to the poor
Hospitality

(Isa 58:658:6-7)
Lavish generosity (Lk 12:33)
Justice (Isa 1:161:16-17)
Institutionalised safeguards (Lev 19:9--10) 19:9
The people of God the primary focus (Acts 6:16:1-4) “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (Jas 1:27)

What about politics?

Christians should support policies that:
Protect

equality under law
Favour wealth creation
Lead to financial independence
Pursue high (full) employment
Support families

Christians should oppose policies that:
Punish

initiative
Encourage laziness
Leave the poor without help
Leave the poor without a voice
Cause inflation

International affairs
Global

poverty
The persecuted Church
Our brothers in Iraq

Conclusion
An

important distinction:

– The Church's duty is to preach the gospel (Matt 28: 1818-20) – The Christian's duty is to live out the gospel
Importance

of Christian civic groups

– The Clapham Set, ACL, Saltshakers – Justice International
The

primacy of the gospel

DISCUSSION

Questions
What

is the role of the state?

– To show compassion? – To show justice?
God,

the supreme Lord and King of all the world, has ordained civil magistrates, to be, under Him, over the people, for His own glory, and the public good: and, to this end, has armed them with the power of the sword, for the defence and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil doers.[1]

Questions
Generosity

– Sometimes it can be abused. Does this mean we shouldn't be generous? How discriminating ought we to be? – Personal generosity – Foreign aid